Sequel

John
Duval, one of Australia’s most highly
regarded winemakers who built his reputation
at Penfolds over 28 years, most notably as
the chief winemaker for the iconic Penfolds
Grange, is a partner in the Long
Shadows Vintners Group, based in Washington’s
Columbia Valley. His "label", Sequel,
makes a Syrah from Columbia Valley fruit.

Duval
travels to the Columbia Valley vineyards
each year to select grapes and to direct the
winemaking of a Syrah. He returns
to the Columbia Valley each winter to finalize
the blend and at harvest to
direct the crush. The new wine was Duval’s
first announced venture since leaving Penfolds
in late 2002 to pursue his winemaking interests
beyond his own consulting business with Southcorps’ Penfolds
and the development of his John Duval Wines
label.

Nine Hats is made under the same roof as the superb Longshadows wines. This is an excellent value in Washington red wine -...

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More About Sequel

Imagine having the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright
come to your neighborhood to design a building.

Picture Jane Austen in your study writing a new novel,
or Julia Child preparing a fabulous meal in your kitchen.

Some of the world’s most respected winemakers
have come to Washington State to make serious wine, the result of a new
venture to bring a “Dream Team” from many corners of the world
to Washington.

Long Shadows Vintners
is the brainstorm of Allen Shoup, former CEO of Stimson Lane (Chateau
Ste. Michelle and Columbia Crest wineries, to name a few). Shoup said
those who “have cast long
shadows on the wine industry” inspired the name.

The new partnerships have bloomed into six new wineries
producing premium wine in small quantities. Shoup has selected
California winemakers Randy Dunn (Feather) and Agustin Huneeus (Pirouette),
Bordeaux chateau owner Michel Rolland (Pedestal), the proprietor of Chateau
Le Bon-Pasteur in Pomerol, Australian John Duval (Sequel), and German Riesling
producer Armin Diel (Poet's Leap). In addition, resident winemaker Giles
Nicault makes a sixth wine under the Chester Kidder label.

“Randy has made three of the best wines to
come out of Napa (including his work with Caymus and Pahlmeyer),” said
Shoup. “He is a maverick and a pioneer and he wants to make the best
cab to ever come out of Washington.”

Huneeus created Concha y Toro in Chile (later sold)
and Franciscan Estates in California (also sold, although he and his son
are still involved) and his home vineyard, Quintessa, producing premium
Meritage. He and Shoup have been friends for years and Huneeus said he
jumped at the opportunity.

“I always admired him (Shoup) for what he was
doing in Washington,” Huneeus said. “This is a new chapter
for him. I believe it will be a very fun group and I am intrigued to be
a part of it.

“My idea is to make the best wine I can make.
I’ve found Washington wine to be amazing. It is definitely a state
with a very bright future.”

In addition to his own chateau, Rolland consults
for wineries in Europe and California. Shoup said he hopes Rolland will
want to produce Merlot and Cabernet Franc, as he does in Pomerol. But he
says he will leave it up to the winemakers.

Allen Shoup and Agustin Huuneus

Shoup is talking to other winemakers with international
credentials, including those from Italy, Australia and Germany. He says
there is no shortage of winemakers who have contacted him for inclusion
in his venture. He has also discovered that grape growers in Eastern Washington
are also eager to open discussions.

The plan is to start in Walla Walla, but the wineries,
which will all eventually have a bricks and mortar site, may sprout up
nearer to the vineyards selected by the winemakers. The winemakers will
meet in Washington in May and tour some of the vineyards, selecting sites
for sourcing grapes.

Long
Long Shadows Vintners
has a board of investors, including Don Petersen, former CEO of Ford
Motor Company, retired Admiral Joseph Prueher, who served as ambassador
to China under the Clinton administration, Anthony von Mandl, owner of
Mission Hill Winery in British Columbia’s
Okanogan Valley, and Arnie Prentice, chairman of Kibble & Prentice
insurance brokerage firm. All met Shoup during his tenure at Stimson Lane
and became friends, sharing the common interest of good wine, Shoup said.

Mondavi as the Inspiration

Shoup spent 20 years as CEO of Stimson Lane, starting
at a time when wine production was in its infancy in the Northwest. He
became a champion of the Pacific wine industry and sought mentors who could
advise him on his road to put Washington State on the map as a contender
of world-class premium wine.

He watched as Robert Mondavi, in 1980, created Opus
One, an exceptional Bordeaux-style wine, produced by Mondavi and the Chateau
Mouton Rothschild families.

“He was an inspiration to me,” Shoup
said about the wine industry pioneer. “(At the time), I had a close
relationship with May de Lecquesaing, owner of Pichon-Lalande and knew
she loved Washington wines. We tried for years to put together a joint
venture ala Opus, but it never quite happened.”

About the same time as the Opus collaboration, Shoup
became acquainted with Piero Antinori, of Tuscany, who agreed to partner
with Chateau Ste. Michelle to produce Col Solare, a Bordeaux blend using
Syrah.

But it was Mondavi that Shoup sought for advice and
guidance. After his retirement, when he decided to create Long Shadows
Vintners, he contacted Mondavi for inclusion in his project.

“Bob’s encouragement was critical to
my decision to do my current venture,” Shoup said. “He thought
it was a no-brainer.”

Mondavi is now 90-years-old,
and as much as he wanted to participate, he eventually declined, telling
Shoup in an endearing letter that if he was “10 years younger,” he
would gladly be a participant.

Is it Working ?

Shoup is a communicator
with vision and a genteel touch, say those in the wine industry. If there
is any doubt about Washington State’s emergence as a world-wide
producer of premium wines, Long Shadows Vintner reaffirms the quality
of Washington wines, said Steve Burns, former executive director of the
Washington Wine Commission. (Shoup helped create the commission while
at Stimson Lane.)

“The fruit has to be there, or else he couldn’t
pull this off, regardless of his connections in the wine industry,” said
a Washington grape grower. “There is a lot of buzz about this in
our industry.”

With the economic decline in the past few years,
Shoup says he recognizes that the creation of six new wineries
producing premium wine (sold at $60 per bottle for the 2003 vintage) seems
to be a large feat. Wine
production will probably peak at about 1,000 cases per winery and Shoup
says most of the winemakers have loyal fans who will seek out the wine
in fine wine shops and restaurants.

Shoup says his most important contribution to the
wine industry, leading up to his current project, is the ability to pick
good people to do their jobs well.

“I have surrounded myself with some of the
most talented people in the industry,” he said. “Even though
I had the final say on all of our accomplishments, and mistakes, which
fortunately never got recorded, I couldn’t have done any of it without
them.

“That’s not true. I didn’t need
any help to make the mistakes,” he added, laughing.

The Shoup Legacy

Under the tenure of Allen
Shoup, Stimson Lane formed partnerships with international winemakers
and created new offerings from Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Crest.
In addition, Shoup stood at the helm when Chateau Ste. Michelle went
from a single brand winery doing $5 million per year, into a multi-international
wine company doing $175 million per year. Wines that didn’t attract
much attention received high scores while Shoup was CEO.

Shoup named the Columbia
Valley appellation and filed the paperwork to get it approved. He began
the Domaine Ste. Michelle Sparkling Wine line, Whidbey’s Port,
purchased Snoqualmie, Conn Creek and Villa Mt. Eden. He started the Washington
Wine Institute, the Northwest Wine Auction and helped create and maintained
50 percent of the vote of the Washington Wine Commission. He participated
in the founding of the American Vintners Association and sat on the California
Wine Institute Board.

1993: The Artist Series began by featuring Dale Chihuly
as the first honored artist, who developed a unique collaboration between
Chateau Ste. Michelle and the Pilchuk Glass School. This series continues
today honoring these glass artists every year.

1996: Col Solare, a Bordeaux-style blend with the
addition of Syrah, made from a partnership with Piero Antinori of Italy.

1999: Eroica, a Riesling made with Ernst Loosen of
Germany and Erik Olson from Chateau Ste. Michelle that helped to create
a Renaissance for Riesling in the United States, and ramped up sales of
Riesling in Europe.

1999: An agreement between
Stimson Lane Vineyards and Estates and Brian Croser, executive chairman
of Australia’s Petaluma
Vineyards to produce super-premium Australian wines, allowing Stimson Lane
to become the exclusive marketer of all Petaluma and Bridgwater Mill wines
in North America.

Shoup and winemaker Jed Steele planned to establish
Northstar as an icon brand, dedicated exclusively to producing a single
Merlot. The first vintage was in 1994. Last year, Northstar opened its
own winery in Walla Walla.

In 2000, five wines, under
the tutelage of Shoup, appeared in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the Year. The wines:
Columbia Crest 1996 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 1998 Estate Chardonnay,
1997 Estate Merlot, Chateau Ste. Michelle 1999 Eroica Riesling and 1996
Cold Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. At the time, Shoup told reporters he didn’t
think it would ever happen again, but it did.

Wine Spectator included another five Stimson Lane
wines on the Top 100 list this past year, and Shoup was on board when while
those wines were produced. The wines: 2000 Columbia Crest Grand Estate
Chardonnay, Reserve Syrah from Columbia Valley, the 1999 Chateau Ste. Michelle
Merlot from the Canoe Ridge Estate Vineyard, Eroica (Riesling) from the
collaboration with Ernst Loosen, and the 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Grand Reserve from Villa Mt. Eden, owned by Stimson Lane.

9/6/07 Long Shadows Winery of the
Year for 2007!

Long Shadows Winery, set up
in 2002 by American vintner
Allen Shoup, was named Winery of the
Year on Wednesday, September 6, 2007
in Food & Wine
magazine's 10th annual American Wine
Awards.
The winery was chosen by editors from
the magazine and a panel of wine experts
who each year select the best American
wines from under and over $20 in eight
categories.

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